Coalition for Positive Sexuality Media Release

Here is the Coalition for Positive Sexuality media release issued on March 11, 2002, on the topic of CDC and USDA removal of website links to the positive.org website:

MEDIA RELEASE--SEX-ED. GROUP DECRIES CDC & USDA REMOVAL OF LINKS TO GROUP'S WEB SITE

11 March 2002

For more information contact:
David Schlossman: 202-547-3171
Carl T. Wilson: 773-769-9274
CPS Voicemail: 773-604-1654
www.positive.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SEX-ED. GROUP DECRIES CDC & USDA REMOVAL OF LINKS TO GROUP'S WEB SITE

WASHINGTON, DC--The Coalition for Positive Sexuality (CPS)-a grassroots, all-volunteer sexuality education organization-denounces the Centers for Disease Control's and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's decisions to remove links to CPS's honest and accurate sexuality education Web site, www.positive.org. On Friday, March 8, 2002, the CDC announced that it had dropped the link from the youth resources section of its Web site to www.positive.org. The USDA also intends to remove a link to www.positive.org from its www.cyfernet.org's "positive youth development" Web page. These actions follow a March 7, 2002, article in the conservative Washington Times that reported on the links and objections to them voiced in a letter to the CDC and USDA from the Physicians Consortium, a Pennsylvania-based group that advocates abstinence-only education programs. Coalition for Positive Sexuality calls upon the CDC and the USDA to restore the links from their sites to www.positive.org immediately, as the site offers young people honest, accurate information regarding sexuality and the removal of the links was based on misleading information.

* CDC & USDA respond to inaccurate, biased information, Coalition for Positive Sexuality says:
A representative of Physicians Consortium quoted in the Times article claimed that the CPS site "borders on pornography" and "run[s] counter to sound public messages for young people." "These allegations are inaccurate and biased," asserts Coalition for Positive Sexuality member David Schlossman. He continues, "The contents of CPS's Web site offer viewers clear, honest, and accurate information showing teens (and adults) how to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections, and unintended pregnancies. The site calls upon young people to treat one another with respect regardless of their sexual orientation or their choices about sexual activity. And the site tells teens to stand up for their rights. The Coalition for Positive Sexuality's materials foster teen's health and advance public health. CPS's materials educate, rather than titillate. Our site is frank, but if it resembles pornography, then so do anatomy textbooks." CPS member Carl T. Wilson agrees, stating "The _Washington Times_ article is rhetorically homophobic and anti-youth. The CDC and the USDA allowed right wing scare tactics to bully them into removing progressive safe-sex and HIV prevention information from their sites."

* CDC & USDA rushed to judgment, Coalition for Positive Sexuality asserts:
"We never heard from the CDC or USDA," says CPS member Jeanette May. "We never had the chance to defend our materials. Nor did these agencies seek public comment. That strikes us as deeply undemocratic."

* CDC's and USDA's actions will hurt teens, Coalition for Positive Sexuality believes:
Studies have shown abstinence-only programs don't work. Moreover, such campaigns deny teenagers basic resources they need to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS and unwanted pregnancies. By dropping links to a frank, informative, teen-friendly site (apparently at the behest of an abstinence-only lobbying organization), the CDC and USDA have made it harder for teens and educators to find information they need and are likely to use.

* Why CPS takes a direct approach:
"We seek to provide comprehensive and approachable educational materials that give teens information they need to stay healthy and respect themselves and others," says CPS member Jeanette May. "We use frank language because that's the way people talk about sex. We have worked with teens and incorporated their input when developing our materials. Our site is pro-sex, pro-gay/lesbian/bi/straight, and pro-choice. The site doesn't 'promote' sex, it tells teens to think carefully about sexuality, whether they choose to engage in sexual activity or not."

* CPS believes informed teens can make wise decisions: Member Schlossman adds, "We think that if you give young people the information they need, along with the message that they should treat themselves and others with respect, that they are capable of making wise decisions regarding sexual activity. Our materials can facilitate discussion between teens and parents who want to talk about sex, and offer information to teens whose parents are uncomfortable discussing sexuality. CPS believes it's important to provide frank and factual information about sex in order to dispel myths and misconceptions."

* About the Coalition for Positive Sexuality:

CPS's mission is to give teens the information they need to practice safe sex. The organization was founded in Chicago in 1992 by members of ACT UP, Queer Nation, the pro-choice Emergency Clinic Defense Coalition, and the feminist theatre troupe No More Nice Girls. The group has evolved into an independent, national organization. In addition to maintaining the www.positive.org site, CPS publishes a safe-sex-education booklet, Just Say Yes, a Spanish language translation, ¡Di Que Sí!, and the Girl Germs poster series. The Coalition for Positive Sexuality's materials were created by high school students, community activists, health educators, and health care workers. Its members donate their time, and CPS receives no federal funding.

For further information, visit http://www.positive.org or call (773) 604-1654.

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